NEW  MEDIA  RESEARCH  STUDIO    MCC-UE 1029  

   

 COURSE DESCRIPTION:  What does it mean to publish, be public or make knowledge today?  We might argue that most of us sitting in this class are open-access publishers. We use a platform or venue to host our compositions for a wide, publicly accessible audience. Does this mean twitter? Facebook? Blogs? Yes, it does. Does this also mean open-access academic journals, The Huffington Post, Wikipedia, You-Tube, podcasts and millions of websites?  This explosion of publication and the wide array of platforms, formats, audiences and modes of knowledge leaves us with a plethora of questions, which our course will attempt to answer through practice-based research (more on this below).  What is the/a public? Publicity? Publication? What is open-access? Accessibility? How open is open? Who are the audiences? Who are the publishers? What are the platforms, formats, medial and computational means through which publication happens? What kinds of knowledge, information and conversations happen? Through which modes? Why? How do these modes of knowledge interact with each other? With us? Who knows how to consume media? Who knows how to make media? How to make a platform? What do we need to know to be critical makers? What are the ethics of publication?  How will we go about our researches? Through practice. Critically engaged and creative, compositional practice. We will carefully look at many platforms, use them, play with them, and talk about them and their affordances. And we will also make our own: websites, images (print and digital), podcasts, videos. We will select a project to work on, each one of us investing in a project that is meaningful and rich for us, a project that we hope to continue well past the end of semester. We will begin to create our own open-access publication nexus. This will take a whole lot of work and time, but by the end of term, we will be adept and skilled publishers, capable of working between academic and non-academic modes of knowledge and expression.  From the catalog:

 A project-based, research-intensive course that explores emerging practices and trends in new media with particular emphasis on interactive and immersive environments, such as social

 

 

 networking sites, mulit-player online environments, the blogosphere, the open source movement, social activist groups, and internet-based art. Students engage in a semester-long participatory research project using collaborative web tools.

   

   WORKLOAD  Let it be said, and it is meant. The workload is extremely heavy & expectations for your productivity are very high.  Making media takes about 3 times more of your time than reading and writing papers. Make sure this is a good semester to invest this time. This class is taught frequently. Is this the right semester for you?

 

   REQUIREMENTS:

o Attend all classes and arrive on time.  

o Complete all assignments as assigned and on time. Assignments described in the schedule.

 o Meet with the professor as requested and as scheduled for your mid-term

evaluation, if requested.  

o Present your final project portfolio as scheduled. You may not miss the final presentation, so do not schedule a departure from campus prior to our final class.

 o Fully participate in class activities and especially our collaborative critiques of

each other’s work.  

o Proactively attend labs & office hours to get the help you need... before the due dates.

   

   PROJECTS (THE STUFF OF GRADES):

On time attendance at all classes (10%) Technical tutorials (5%) In-class work, writing, exercises, use of digital platforms examined in class (15%) Bi-weekly entries on the class DIY Digital Composition blog (10%) Publication Project Website (20%) Photo Project (print & digital) (7.5%) Podcast (7.5%) Video Project (10%) Final presentation (5%) Full, unfettered participation, self-motivation, proactive engagement with all

coursework (10%)

 

 

  NOTE: Attendance at lab & office hours if you have trouble or need help (Professor may require this of you if you fall behind) NOTE: ALL assignments must be completed to pass the course.

   

   REQUIRED MATERIALS:

Adobe Master Suite 6 Available to students from the NYU computer store at a seriously discounted price.

 There are work-around alternatives, including use of the MCC departmental lab (239 Greene St., #703 - check in on 8th floor) during its specified hours and use of the NYU/Bobst library computing labs.

 I guarantee you we will use the following adobe applications (though others may be used depending on our progress): Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Audition, Premiere, Media Encoder & Media Player.

 ***Please note: this software is required for the assignments for this course.***

  Domain and website host

While NYU offers students free domains and hosting service, this service is limited.  

You will receive your own domain and hosting service for the semester, courtesy of MCC. I recommend you consider establishing your own domain/host before the end of term.

  Memory stick/portable external drive

You will need a USB drive with a minimum of 16g of memory.  

This memory stick will be used exclusively for this class. Bring it to class. Use it as backup. While your work will always be posted on your website, you must also keep every single assignment from class on the USB drive, including project files, old files, and scratch files. You will provide your final coursework on this drive.

  Photo paper for printing

  Regular access to digital camera, camcorder, microphone/sound recording

equipment Equipment may be checked out from the MCC dept. office at 239 Greene, 8th fl. This is a first-come, first-serve provision. Do not use your cell phone cameras... they have limited resolutions and lenses.

Make sure that whatever camera you use (especially if you borrow a video camera) you have

 

 

 the software to access the image files and to download them to your computer or USB drive

 

   EXPECTATIONS/DETAILS ON GRADES AND THE COURSE

Every single assignment must be completed to pass the course. This includes making up any in-class work that you may have missed due to absence. You must tweet your assignments to me with the specific URL on your website where the assignment may be found. This is required to receive on time credit.

  The professor practices "minimal marking" a style of teaching that respects

the student's work. She will not criticize, correct or comment all over your work. We will regularly critique and discuss work in class. I will also discuss your work with you individually as often as you make yourself available in lab and office hours. Furthermore, you will receive constant in-class "collaborative feedback" in class. In the end, your university career, your work, your education, your progress in this class are yours--your responsibility, your achievement, and your brilliance. Learning to evaluate the quality of your own thinking and composing is the number one goal for this course.

  Work completed within designated assignment parameters and on time receives a

“grade” of 100%. Work turned in up to one week late will receive a grade of 80%. Any work turned in more than a week late will receive a '0' grade, but all work must be turned in to pass the course.

  Each student will produce a final digital portfolio (website) of all work produced for this

course. Your website and USB drive (containing all project and final files) will be organized and maintained for presentation at the end of the semester. Students are strongly urged to keep a running list of assignments on their websites with up-to-date links.

  Participation in class is a significant portion of your grade and the only aspect of the

class that can only be earned by regular active and engaged on-time attendance in class.

  A mid-term assessment/student-professor conference may be scheduled to discuss your

progress.  IMPORTANT TO KNOW: Notes on the evaluation of assignments:  

Again. First, last and foremost: you must tweet the URL of your completed, web-based assignments to me (this is also how you document completing your work on time).

  All assigned studio work, readings, listenings, posting and watchings must be practiced,

read, listened to, composed and/or watched at least once and any assigned writing must be completed and uploaded prior to class meetings and according to the given due date and time.

 

 

  In-class projects, writing, assignments or exercises cannot be made up for credit in the

event of absence or tardiness, even excused absences or tardiness. However, all assignments must be completed to pass the course.

  You must adhere to your assigned dates and times. All assignments must be prepared

prior to the class meeting, according to the due date and time, and fully complete. No credit will be given to assignments if components are missing or if the assigned date is missed. If hardcopy is requested, it must be prepared before class…no exceptions. Students must complete all assignments to pass the course. This means that if your assignment is late for up to one week, it will receive 80% credit. After that, it will receive a "0"; nevertheless, all assignments must be completed in order to pass the course.

  Writing and speaking in response to each other (written peer responses and oral

critique) is a major component of the course. Care, consideration, and constructive criticism are expected.

  All homework and composing for class must be produced as digital documents using the

assigned software platforms, exported in the assigned formats, and successfully uploaded, copied, exported, and/or legibly printed and/or photocopied prior to class (if hardcopy is required). If in-class writing assignments are completed by hand, you must write legibly. All assignments must be accurately and fully labeled. All assignments must be transferred to your website as digital documents and saved to your USB drive.

  Though in few cases we are critiquing final drafts, preparatory writing and drafts as well

as pre-production assignments will be presumed for all assignments. Drafts and pre- production are required assignments.

  All student work will be read, discussed, and/or evaluated in class through the use of

public websites, online digital communities, a digital projector, and photocopies.  

Each assignment will be discussed in great detail in class. If you are absent, you will have missed this discussion. It is your responsibility to get notes from your peers regarding the in-class discussions. I do not hold the same class twice, once for everyone and once for you.

  MLA documentation or assigned documentation/citation is expected for all research

work, papers, projects and presentations.  

Be brilliant often…you are, so share it with the class.  

DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS: Use of communication devices & computers in class:  In order for us to work together well, we need to construct the boundaries of digital device usage. First: turn off cellphone ringers for this and every public venue in which you attend or participate. This is a matter of basic etiquette.  So, unless given permission to use a specific device in a particular manner, usage is not permitted. This means that using your computer to take notes is always fine, but texting is not

 

 

 ok, unless the class is texting. This means that when we are using the computers, you should not be on Facebook unless the class is doing something with Facebook... this is will occur only at one point during the term.  Furthermore, when permission is granted specific devices may only be used as directed by the professor. If you are confused at a given moment in class, please ask her and she will let you know what is permissible.  Absolutely no in-class recording of any kind without the express written permission of the Professor and all students present in class.

 

   TARDINESS and WANDERING: I do not <3 tardiness. I h8 tardiness. This is very simple. Tardiness=rudeness. Tardiness=disruption to 25 people other than you. Tardiness=unhappiness for professor= unhappiness for late student.  The class combines two weekly meetings into one long session. A break will be given Please use the restroom and make phone calls during the break, prior to or after class. Unless an absolute emergency, please do not get up and wander in and out of the class while class is in session.

   

 ABSENCES: First and foremost, this course requires your active presence and participation in and out of the classroom. And again, this class combines the equivalent of two meetings into one.  Therefore, if you miss more than one class (a full week’s worth of class time), your grade will be affected. If you miss more than two classes, you are not likely to pass. You must make up any in-class work no later than the following class meeting.  Let me repeat: if you are absent from class more than twice, for any reason, excused or otherwise, it is unlikely that you will pass this course. For religious observances, you must contact me at least one week in advance to give notification.  You and only you are responsible for acquiring missed notes, information, assignments, materials, and announcements. This does not mean simply asking me to write up and email notes for the class time that you missed. This means asking twitter, one or two peers to take notes for you, checking all online course resources, and making sure that even if you are not in class, your work due is.  I will confirm any information collected from peers, but she will not redo the class for you. In a studio workshop we work together, so this is impossible even if she were willing (and she is not).

 

   

 

 

 

   Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism (http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/policies/academic_integrity) The relationship between students and faculty is the keystone of the educational experience at New York University in the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. This relationship takes an honor code for granted and mutual trust, respect, and responsibility as foundational requirements. Thus, how you learn is as important as what you learn. A university education aims not only to produce high-quality scholars, but to also cultivate honorable citizens.  Academic integrity is the guiding principle for all that you do, from taking exams to making oral presentations to writing term papers. It requires that you recognize and acknowledge information derived from others and take credit only for ideas and work that are yours.  You violate the principle of academic integrity when you

• cheat on an exam, • submit the same work for two different courses without prior permission from your professors, • receive help on a take home examination that calls for independent work, or plagiarize.

 Plagiarism, one of the gravest forms of academic dishonesty in university life, whether intended or not, is academic fraud. In a community of scholars, whose members are teaching, learning, and discovering knowledge, plagiarism cannot be tolerated. Plagiarism is failure to properly assign authorship to a paper, a document, an oral presentation, a musical score, and/or other materials that are not your original work. You plagiarize when, without proper attribution, you do any of the following:

• copy verbatim from a book, an article, or other media; • download documents from the Internet; • purchase documents; • report from other’s oral work; • paraphrase or restate someone else’s facts, analysis, and/or conclusions; or • copy directly from a classmate or allow a classmate to copy from you.

 

 

 Your professors are responsible for helping you to understand other people’s ideas, to use resources and conscientiously acknowledge them, and to develop and clarify your own thinking. You should know what constitutes good and honest scholarship, style guide preferences, and formats for assignments for each of your courses. Consult your professors for help with problems related to fulfilling course assignments, including questions related to attribution of sources. Through reading, writing, and discussion, you will undoubtedly acquire ideas from others, and exchange ideas and opinions with others, including your classmates and professors. You will be expected, and often required, to build your own work on that of other people. In so doing, you are expected to credit those sources that have contributed to the development of your ideas.  Avoiding Academic Dishonesty

Organize your time appropriately to avoid undue pressure, and acquire good study habits, including note taking.

Learn proper forms of citation. Always check with your professors of record for their preferred style guides. Directly copied material must always be in quotes; paraphrased material must be acknowledged; even ideas and organization derived from your own previous work or another's work need to be acknowledged.

Always proofread your finished work to be sure that quotation marks, footnotes and other references were not inadvertently omitted. Know the source of each citation.

Do not submit the same work for more than one class without first obtaining the permission of both professors even if you believe that work you have already completed satisfies the requirements of another assignment.

Save your notes and drafts of your papers as evidence of your original work.  Disciplinary Sanctions If a professor suspects cheating, plagiarism, or other forms of academic dishonesty, appropriate disciplinary action may be taken following the department procedure or through referral to the Committee on Student Discipline. The Steinhardt School Statement on Academic Integrity is consistent with the NYU Policy on Student Conduct, published in the NYU Student Guide.

   

   STUDENT RESOURCES

Students with physical or learning disabilities are required to register with the Moses Center for Students with Disabilities, 726 Broadway, 2nd Floor, (212-998-4980) and are required to present a letter from the Center to the instructor at the start of the semester in order to be considered for appropriate accommodation.

Prof. Bianco 9

 

 

   

SCHEDULE (SUBJECT TO CHANGE):      

1/27: INTRODUCTION : SOCIAL MEDIA Introduction: syllabus, course concept and practices Set up practice groups, twitter, blog Sign up for reading presentations for semester What is open-access? What is publication? What is a public? Who are we?

 Do Think about possible environmental ecologies that you might work with for this class. Complete class survey by Tuesday at 5p (check your NYU email) Begin tinkering with HTML/HTML5 tutorials at W3Schools… so you know what you have signed up for !

   

2/3: MICROBLOGGING : Short forms Real time, short form, dialogic, ambient. Media making = media learning. Internet 101. Website 101: HTML. How to set up your FTP

 Read Read the Terms of Service for all Practice platforms below (we will do this with ALL platforms)

 

 

 Practice Twitter Vine Snapchat  

Do Complete HTML/XHTML tutorials at W3Schools. 3 Project ideas, described in at least one full paragraph. DUE: Blog post #1 due by noon on Sunday, February 2nd Continue planning to layout on your baby website!

   

2/10: THE FACEBOOK : me, my, me, mine, you, your, yours What is FaceBook? Why does it work? Why does it not work? Privacy and sharing Media making = media learning. Website 102: CSS. Making the look, the feel, the design. Crit 1

 Read What is copyright? [read first, then listen] What is the commons [CC] Terms of service Thoroughly investigate your peers websites & projects

 Practice FaceBook

 Do

Twitter assignment Today you have chosen your project and Prof. Bianco has approved. Make sure this has

happened. Complete CSS tutorials at W3Schools. Complete tutorials for Dreamweaver Begin to review Photoshop tutorials Listen to Image File Types (podcast from TechStuff) Author your fully functional homepage (HTML & content) for your static website --

uploaded & live (HTML tags)  

What is on your first webpage? You will take concepts from our discussions and think about your chosen project. Craft them into something interesting to engage on your webpage. No, this is not just made with words, though you will produce at least 2-3 pages worth of text for this assignment. Introduce and map out your project.

   

license. Your website must include a "fair use disclaimer" (and for today) a Creative Commons

 Helpful (but not required) HTML5 Header | Beautiful code Complete HTML5/XHTML tutorials at Channel 9 Intro & Channel 9 HTML5 (Channel 9 is especially helpful for PC users)

   

 2/17: Holiday

 

 

     

   2/24: BLOGS : old school

Serial short and long form publication. The blog voice … dear reader… What is the difference between and “install” and using a blogging platform? DIGITAL IMAGING 101: Take pictures for the Internet, AND for the wall. Take pictures with an

able  camera ... let’s take a big step beyond the iPhone/FaceBook/Instagram selfie

Website 103: Getting these images on your site. The magic truly begins.  Practice Wordpress (.org and .com)  Read Read the Terms of Service

 Do

FaceBook assignment Complete Photoshop tutorials DUE: Bring in 5 FABULOUS digital photos of your project to class (please take them with

a full-bodied camera...think: operatic images]. You may manipulate them with Photoshop, but please also bring in raw files (copy, copy, copy). You will also bring in 5 hardcopies of these images (the Lab has a photo-printer).

Author your 5 operatic ecological photos on you website -- uploaded & live. These images will be an exploration of your project and creative critical new page(s) on your website.

DUE: Blog post #2 due by noon on Sunday, February 23  

Helpful (but not required): Begin listening to the sounds of your project.

   

3/3: Blogs : new school Serial short and long form publication. And spatialization The blog voice … dear reader… The blog eye and community What is the difference between and “install” and using a blogging platform? DIGITAL IMAGING 102: Manipulating images. Creating compositions. Website 103: Arranging and curating these images on your site. The magic truly begins. Crit 2

 Practice Tumblr

 Read Read the Terms of Service Thoroughly investigate your peers websites & projects

 Do

Wordpress assignment Capture as much still photography of your project as you can. Begin selection process

and cultivating (Photoshop). 10 more selected, brilliant images in a preliminary photo- essay for your website. You will be using JQuery to create a photo-gallery and hacking the script to work on your site. Locate some possible galleries for you to use.

 

 

  Create a poster, using these images. How does arrangement and composition differ for

the web and on paper? DUE: Podcast project proposal. 2-3 page description of all facets, concepts, and

production elements of your project podcast work. This proposal will be posted on your website by the start of class.

   3/10: IMAGE ARCHIVES

Collections of images. What’s the difference between curation and storage? Sound sssssoundssssss of our projects Work on Audition in class. How to edit sound?

 Practice Flickr Instagram

 Read Read the Terms of Service

 Do

Tumblr assignment DUE: Blog post #3 due by noon on Sunday, March 9 DUE: Design revisions on your website, blog posts & platforms Complete tutorials for Audition Bring in 3 audio scratch tracks to edit in class (at least 2 minutes each) Video project proposal due (2 pages... that means 2 full pages that may leak onto a 3rd...

not 1 page that leaks onto a 2nd).    

 3/17 – 3/19: Spring Break

   3/24: Knowledge Commons

What is a wiki? Why the indexical format for knowledge archives? How does the hyperlink function? What knowledge cannot be housed on these platforms? Work on Premiere & Audition in class Video scratch tracks Crit 3

 Practice Wikipedia Media Commons Wikimedia Commons

 Read Read the Terms of Service Listen to all peers’ podcasts

 Do

Image Archive assignment Continue design revisions on your website (especially to house media), blog posts &

assignments!

 

 

  Rough podcasts should be posted on your website by (3/23). Bring project files to class JQuery tutorials on W3Schools DUE: Curate 20 brilliant images in a GALLERY for your website. This is a

JQuery/Photoshop assignment. You must produce a dynamic gallery (JQuery) of your images, selected, ordered and accessible on Firefox, Chrome, and Safari.

Complete Premiere Pro tutorials (this is absolutely essential!) Bring at least 3 two-minute video scratch tracks to class. WE WILL WORK WITH

PREMIERE IN CLASS.    

 3/31: VIDEO ARCHIVES

The people’s moving image archive or funniest home videos? Does quality matter? Virality of content? Issues? Oh… and cat videos. Video storyboards. Moving into Production Integrating Sound with Images

 Practice You-Tube Vimeo

 Read Read the Terms of Service Review all peer's sound projects/video proposals + storyboards

 Do

Knowledge Commons assignment Revised sound pieces due (v. 1->v. 2) (minimum 2 mins), rendered, exported and posted

on your website using HTML5 (NO Vimeo or YouTube). Must be available in Safari, Chrome and Firefox. -- Keep all versions of your sound & video projects on your website!

Video project Storyboard + production plan due (8 cells with production paragraphs to accompany each).

DUE: Blog post #4 due by noon on Sunday, March 30  

   

 4/7: CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS (CMS)

CMS’s integrate. What is the upside of a WYSIWYG system for producing websites? How do they work? Front and back ends? Making videos Crit for sound & video & gallery

 Read Read the Terms of Service Review all peer sound projects/video projects

 Practice Scalar

 Do

Video archives assignment Rough video edit (3-5 mins), rendered, exported and posted on your website using

HTML5 (NO Vimeo or YouTube embeds on your website). Must be available in Safari, Chrome and Firefox. Also post on Vimeo and YouTube

 

 

  Review Premiere Pro tutorials (this is absolutely essential!)

   

4/14: PARA/ACADEMIC DIGITAL KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION I The academy on the Internet. From paper to pixels, what changes? How do we learn from these platforms? Audience? Crit for sound & video

 Read Review all peer sound projects/video projects

 Practice Lateral: a Journal of the Cultural Studies Association Public: Imagining America

 Do

CMS assignment Clean sound project (ready for prime time and final crit) Post-effects/production video edit (3-5 mins), rendered, exported and posted on your

website using HTML5 (NO Vimeo or YouTube). Must be available in Safari, Chrome and Firefox.

Begin website revision DUE: Blog post #5 due by noon on Sunday, April 13

 

   

 4/21: PARA/ACADEMIC DIGITAL KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION II

The academy on the Internet. From paper to pixels, what changes? How do we learn from these platforms? Born digital, collaborative works Who is the public?

 Read Review all peer sound projects/video projects

 Practice Vectors

 Do Academic journal assignment Keep revising all assignments. Big crits COMING SOON

   

4/28: Websites Finally, we arrive at that which we have been doing all semester. Website crits

 Read Review all peer work

 Practice

 

 

 The World of Matter [3 sites chosen by class]

 Do

Academic journal assignment II Full revision of website... let's make these read to the public and not as class websites Create your assignment menu/site map

   

5/5: Redesigning the website & preparing for final presentations Drafting the presentations Material that matters Website Crits

 Do

Continue tooling your work and working on the full revision of website... let's make these read to the public and not as class websites

Create draft of your final presentation  

   

 5/12: Final Presentations & Celebrations

Mandatory attendance and fun! Present your final/best project! All work due on 5/12/14 Hand in USB drive, including all drafts, files, project files.